Wegmans is betting that the cult-like devotion of its shoppers will carry over from the supermarket aisles to its first restaurant in the Big Apple.
The Rochester, NY-based chain – which opened in Astor Place in 2023, with lines that began to form at 4 a.m. – will launch a Japanese-themed eatery adjacent to the store called Next Door on April 30.
The opening comes despite anxiety over the unpredictability of the Trump tariffs, which currently slaps Japan with a 10% levy on all imports.
“As with most new restaurants, we’ll see how it all settles, and look at our sales mix. You can project all you want, but how it works out financially will be determined in the next few weeks,” said John Emerson, Wegmans’ senior vice president of restaurant foods, who was also named a Japanese Cuisine Goodwill Ambassador by the Japanese government.
The restaurant will feature a sushi counter – and champagne bar (the latest trend to hit Manhattan) – with a menu offering delicacies sourced from Tokyo’s Toyosu Fish Market, which Wegmans has partnered with for 14 years.
“It was always the dream to open a restaurant in New York City, but we knew we couldn’t eat the elephant in one bite and open both [the grocery store and the restaurant] at the same time,” said Emerson.
The privately-owned chain, which opened its first Big Apple location in Brooklyn, in 2019, operates 112 grocery stores across the East Coast.
Next Door – just the third restaurant Wegmans has opened, with the other two located in Rochester – will be helmed by chefs Kazuya Matsuoka, formerly of Toronto’s Aburi Hana, and Oliver Lange, formerly of Zuma.
“We’re a contemporary Japanese concept, with a philosophy of embracing the quality of the ingredients and the techniques,” Lange said.
Signature dishes include koji marinated grass-fed ribeye — and king salmon pate with crudites and rice crackers, Lange said.
We hear … On Thursday, Venice import La Piazza is opening in Rockefeller Center in a space that was formerly occupied by Casa Limone, at 20 E. 49th St.
Brothers Juljan and Ledjo Musabelliu launched the flagship eatery La Piazza by Venice’s iconic Piazza San Marco 10 years ago. There’s now three locations in Venice, and another is opening in Mykonos this summer.
“New York has some of the best Italian food outside of Italy. We are excited to bring authentic Venetian to our customers and we are not concerned about the tariffs as New Yorkers are willing to pay for real Italian ingredients or ‘la materia prima,’” Juljan Musabelliu said.
The 5,000 square foot eatery will be helmed by executive chef Fabrizio Bresciani, who has worked with La Piazza group’s various restaurants, including Al Poggio, Ai Due Fratelli, Vesuvio, La Piazza, and La Piazza Zone.
The menu will feature imported Italian seafood, premium cuts, and wood-fire oven pizza, along with a large international wine list. Signature dishes include purple shrimp tartare and burrata; Venetian-Style spaghetti with squid ink, and Pizza La Piazza with mozzarella, tomato sauce, garlic, scallops, lobster, basil and oregano.
The bi-level space seats 133 people and features floor to ceiling windows, a marble bar– with 12 additional seats — and olive green booths. There’s an additional two tables outside and they are currently applying for the outdoor dining permit.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
